• Peru’s Minister of Health, Pilar Mazzetti, announces that Sinopharm can resume coronavirus vaccine trials. Source
• Brazil’s President Bolsonaro says he will not be vaccinated, as he suggests that the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine can turn people into “…crocodiles or bearded ladies.” Source
• The USFDA posts briefing documents for its hearing on Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine. Source
• Two healthcare workers at an Alaskan hospital experienced severe allergic reactions to the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, one of which led to hospitalization. Source
• The US FDA authorizes a home coronavirus antigen test from Abbott Laboratories that gives results in 15 minutes and will be priced at $25; the company plans to make 30 million tests available in Q1 of 2021, and an additional 90 million in Q2 2021. The test will be available through remote prescriptions from partner company eMed. Source
• Ivermectin, a broad spectrum anti-parasitic medicine which has proven active against SARS-CoV-2 in laboratory studies, can also prevent and treat severe and fatal illness from strongyloidiasis hyperinfection (a parasitic infection especially common in South-East Asia, and the Western Pacific, and African regions), which can occur in people with COVID-19 if they are treated with cortiocteroids. A pre-print article has also identified it as a potential treatment for COVID-19, based on results from eight clinical trials reporting improvements in time to recovery, disease progression, duration of hospitalization and death – across all stages of disease severity. Sources 1,2,3,4
• Curevac’s CEO, Franz-Werner Haas, calls for sharing data to compare coronavirus vaccine effectiveness and suspending patents during the pandemic. Source
